


A Circle Unbroken

by valkyriewarcry



Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018)
Genre: Angst, Don’t disrespect the aunties, Gen, Hilda steps up, Hurt/Comfort, Spanking, Spellman family dynamics, punishment spanking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-15
Updated: 2019-01-16
Packaged: 2019-10-10 14:57:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17428109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/valkyriewarcry/pseuds/valkyriewarcry
Summary: The morning after Sabrina yells at Zelda and comes clean about the resurrection to Harvey, Hilda makes it known that Sabrina crossed a line with her behavior.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The transition from Part 1, episode 9 to part 1, episode 10 felt very abrupt to me - almost like the writers forgot to include a resolution between Sabrina and her aunts for alll the rules she broke. In my opinion, a punishment from Hilda would hold more weight in this instance for Sabrina, so that’s what I wrote.
> 
> I’m very unsure whether or not I correctly characterized Hilda. I’m not English, but I tried my best to capture her dark, abrupt humor and her deadpan, halted way of speaking.

The aunts let Sabrina sleep in the morning after everything fell apart with Harvey. Sabrina couldn’t manage to pull herself out of bed before 11 a.m. Her body felt monumentally weighed down with sadness and regret for so many things she had done in the past 48 hours. 

 

Sabrina was curled up snugly in bed, with her stuffed rabbit tucked securely (though covertly under the covers) in her arms. Her eyelashes were wet with the morning’s tears. Salem was keeping vigil, with his warm cat body curled at Sabrina’s feet.

 

When Hilda opened her door and emerged from the hallway, Sabrina sat up reluctantly, not quite ready to face the day or her guilt. Salem scampered out of the room, sensing a private moment was about to occur. 

 

“I feel like I’ve been bit by a train, Auntie,” Sabrina said sadly. 

 

Hilda mentally noted the dark circles and tear tracks on the girl’s face. Poor dear probably hadn’t slept more than a few hours. She’d come home rather late last night, and she had spent a lot of time with Zelda on the porch.

 

“I’ve brought you some lavender tea, so that should help you calm down. You’ve had a hard few days, love,” Hilda said as she set down a teacup on Sabrina’s bedside table. 

 

Truthfully, Hilda used the tea as an excuse to gain entry into her niece’s bedroom. Seeing Zelda hurting herself the other night had given Hilda such a fright. Zelda never exposed her raw feelings of inadequacy around the family if she could help it, so walking in on that terrible scene had made Hilda’s heart flip. 

 

To top things off, Hilda had issued an unpleasant promise to Sabrina several years prior. Unfortunately, the girl now forced her hand. Even though Zelda typically handled the discipline in the family, Hilda felt a fierce protectiveness over Zelda’s emotional well-being. She would not let her sister suffer more by having to punish Sabrina. Hilda would do it, quickly, before the events of the past two days could establish a permanent storm cloud over the Spellman family. 

 

_ You can’t have rainbows without a little rain _ . 

 

Hilda could tolerate a lot of nonsense. In fact, she quite liked unconventional, creative thinking in most situations. But she refused to let Sabrina’s recent foolishness stand without consequences. Because that’s what had occurred: Sabrina hadn’t been thinking productively when she had orchestrated a failed resurrection or got into the biggest fight the Spellman family had experienced in decades. 

 

For the moment, though, Hilda pushed aside her nervousness for what was the come, so she could comfort her niece. She handed the crying teen a handkerchief.

 

“I can’t believe everything fell to pieces so fast,” Sabrina said as she cried into the small piece of fabric. 

 

Hilda pulled her niece in for a tight hug. If she tried to speak, she knew it would sound like she was fumbling for the rightwords. She’d been ruminating on what to say all night long, but she wasn’t ready to deliver a lecture yet. So she rubbed the girl’s back as she fought through her round of tears. 

 

When Sabrina composed herself, Hilda pulled back. She grabbed the cup of tea off the nightstand and prompted Sabrina to sip the drink. 

 

“I know everything that happened is my fault,” Sabrina said, staring intensely into the hot liquid in the teacup instead of looking up at Hilda. 

 

Clearly, even if Hilda wasn’t totally ready for this conversation, Sabrina wanted to have it now. 

 

Hilda mentally prayed for resolve and hoped she wouldn’t sound completely out of sorts as she prepared to speak. 

 

“You are the most precious thing in our lives, dear one. We want you to be a strong witch.” Hilda paused and reached for her niece’s free hand. Once she gave a reassuring squeeze and a small smile, she continued, “I don’t mind as much as Zelda does when you question us, but there are times when you need to listen, even if you think what we’re saying is a load of hogwash. Magic is a blessing, but it can’t solve everything. You have to be able to make sound decisions on your own.”

 

“I tried to fix my mistakes...but I hurt everyone important to me. And I feel helpless now. There’s so much wrong.”

 

Sabrina set aside her tea so she could bury her face in her hands. 

 

Not wanting the girl to become distraught again, Hilda gently pulled the girl’s hands down. 

 

“Hey, now. There’s nothing we can’t fix together, love.”

 

“What about Auntie Zee?” The small, scared tone nearly broke Hilda’s heart in two. 

 

And what about Zelda indeed? Hilda couldn’t very well tell her niece that she had walked in on her sister hurting herself a day ago, nor could she tell Sabrina how the woman was still hiding in her own bed right now, too worn out and fragile to face the day. 

 

“What do you mean, dear?”

 

“I have to go apologize. I was so horrible to her!” Sabrina was nearly in tears again.

 

Hilda shook her head and responded, “Not yet, love. She’s in no state fit for conversation right now. Yesterday was hard on all of us.” Best to leave the explanation sparse. 

 

But that wasn’t good enough for her stubborn, little witch. 

 

“I need her to know that I didn’t mean what I said in the front hall,” Sabrina begged Aunt Hilda.

 

“And you can tell her...when the time is right. Now, though, you and I need to have an unpleasant conversation,” Hilda said. 

 

“What do you mean?” Sabrina started to feel a sinking feeling in her stomach.

 

“Seeing as Zelda is not able to punish you right now, I’m going to.”

 

Sabrina’s eyes widened and she shook her head. Before the girl could open her mouth, Hilda placed a steady hand on Sabrina’s blanket-covered leg.

 

“What is my  _ number one  _ rule, Sabrina?” Aunt Hilda asked, looking at her niece with a piercing stare.

 

Sabrina hesitated as her guilt compounded, but she answered, “Don’t disrespect you or Aunt Zelda as my guardians.” Her lips trembled after she forced the words out, but she smashed them together, stubbornly refusing to let her tears overtake her again this morning. She was brave - she could face this and own up to what she did wrong in the past few days.

 

“What you said last night to Zelda about her not being your mum...technically, you may be right, but it was extremely hurtful and wrong for you to say that to her, especially in anger. I know you know that. And I know you remember what I did the last time you spoke to Zelda in that way.”

 

The feeling of dread landed in Sabrina’s stomach like a pile of rocks tumbling to the bottom of a lake. But she nodded in affirmation because she fully remembered how Aunt Hilda had spanked her for yelling at Aunt Zelda, saying she hated her, when she was thirteen. And she fully expected one of her aunts to spank her for being so disrespectful last night. Just not immediately. 

 

“It was awful.”

 

“This isn’t a cakewalk for me, Sabrina, but I love you, and I love my sister too much to let this go unchecked. And I mean both the disrespect and the recklessness.”

 

The uneasiness coursing through her stomach made Sabrina cross her arms and clench her teeth. Her fantasy of facing this punishment with bravery quickly fell apart. She needed a few minutes to psyche herself up for whatever was coming.

 

“Can I at least brush my teeth first?” Sabrina asked in a small voice. 

 

Hilda’s eyes went wide as the stall tactic caught her off guard. She nodded mechanically. 

 

“Try not to dawdle,” she called after the girl when her niece climbed out of bed and left the room. “Oh, Hilda, get a hold of yourself. This is in your hands now,” she mumbled to herself. She needed to do her best to keep control of this situation. 

 

Sabrina was quick to get to her feet, and, even if the girl felt truly guilty for her actions, she would try just about anything to postpone a punishment. Hilda was beginning to doubt her ability to stand her ground, but she breathed out a nervous and grateful sigh when her niece came back within a few minutes. 

 

“Should I change?” Sabrina asked haltingly, pausing by her closet door. 

 

“No, love. Let’s take care of this nasty business and have it over and done.” Inside, Hilda was congratulating herself on how authoritative she managed to sound, even though her stomach buzzed with endless nerves. 

 

Hilda had to look away from her niece’s face as the girl stepped towards her position on the bed. She already looked so gloomy. Hilda couldn’t fathom how miserable she was about to make herself feel after she inflicted punishment on Sabrina. She was about to make this precious girl cry, and Hilda partially hated herself for it. 

 

She guided her niece over her lap, so Sabrina’s torso rested on the bed with her hands clutching her pillow. The teen’s feet didn’t quite reach the floor, so Hilda wrapped her left arm around the girl’s waist to hold her securely over her knees. 

 

When Hilda suggested the girl keep her stuffed rabbit within reach, Sabrina refused outright, insisting she wasn’t a baby. Hilda didn’t say anything in response, though she secretly thought it was perfectly acceptable to act like a baby when one was about to have their bottom smacked. 

 

How had she proceeded the last time she had Sabrina over her knee? It had been several years since that unfortunate moment, and Hilda loathed to revisit the memory. She recalled pulling her niece’s trousers down before starting in with medium smacks. Perhaps she should have Sabrina first clarify why they were in this position. 

 

“Why am I punishing you, Sabrina?”

 

The girl ducked her head in her arms, trying to hide her embarrassed blush. 

 

“C’mon, love, tell me,” Hilda encouraged. 

 

“Because I was very disrespectful to Aunt Zelda. And I didn’t listen to you or anybody else when they told me to stop doing dangerous things.”

 

“Very good. What did I say would happen the next time you spoke so horribly to Zelda?” Disrespect was a hard line in the sand for Hilda. Her niece would grow up understanding the importance of family. Hilda would accept a thousand trips to the Cain pit if it meant Sabrina never yelled at Zelda with the goal of wounding her with words ever again.

 

“Auntie, please, I know what you’re going to do. You don’t have to make me say it.” Sabrina couldn’t keep the whine out of her voice. It was bad enough to be sixteen and still getting spanked. She didn’t want to pronounce the words out loud, too. 

 

But Hilda couldn’t believe her ears. 

 

“That’s enough of your lip! It’s why we’re here in the first place, Sabrina!” She paused for a moment to stop herself from becoming totally flustered. “Please answer the question.”

 

Sabrina forced the words out quickly from behind clenched teeth. “You said you’d spank me so hard I wouldn’t want to sit down for an entire day. And you would use the heirloom hairbrush.” 

 

She remembered the exact moment her aunt issued the promise. The statement had made Sabrina’s intermittent cries turn into sobs as Hilda had finished up spanking her after the “I hate you, Zelda” incident. She hadn’t realized Aunt Hilda even knew how to spank so thoroughly or painfully before that punishment. Now, she squirmed on the bed as it finally struck her how deep in the trenches of trouble she found herself. 

 

Hilda barely understood the rushed mess of words, but she figured that was good enough. 

 

“I’ll start with my hand, but,” Hilda hesitated but pushed on, “I think these pajama bottoms need to come down.” She patted Sabrina’s bum through the material before sliding the plaid sleepwear down her niece’s legs until they slipped off her feet to pool on the wood floor. 

 

Sabrina tried to breathe normally, but her racing heart made the task difficult.  _ You’ve really done it now. You’ve been so horrible that Auntie Hilda is punishing you before Zelda even has a chance. You push and push and push. Why? Why do you keep doing this? _

 

The ugly voice in her head trudged up heaps of guilt. She wanted this over and done with, so she could retreat back under the covers of her bed and sleep off her hellish emotions.

 

The first smack thudded against her backside harshly. Aunt Hilda’s technique was different from Aunt Zelda’s. Whereas Zelda cupped her hand and snapped her wrist to ensure each spank connected with a bite, Hilda kept her hand flat, so the effect felt more thuddy and resonated a deeper pain through Sabrina’s skin. 

 

Hilda didn’t realize that she spanked quite a bit slower than her sister did. Part of the reason had to do with Hilda’s insecurity and hesitancy to punish her niece. But she let each smack linger for a few seconds before landing the next one. 

 

The suspense ratcheted up Sabrina’s heartbeat even more than before. She interpreted the thick silence as her aunt stewing in her deep disappointment.

 

Truthfully, Hilda didn’t trust her ability to split her focus between spanking and lecturing at the same time. 

 

As her aunt moved her smacks lower, to her sit spots especially, Sabrina didn’t have the willpower to keep from clenching her buttocks against the pain. She gasped through her clenched teeth. 

 

“Stay still, young lady,” Hilda reprimanded lightly. She tried to wait until Sabrina relaxed before continuing, but she could tell the girl was very tightly wound today. Her shoulders were hunched up nearly to her ears, and her face was burrowed deep into the crook of an elbow. 

 

Hilda spanked Sabrina’s sit spots until she could see a pink sheen peeking out beneath the girl’s panties. She paused and took a deep breath to gather her strength for the next bit, knowing she needed to bare the girl’s bottom before the next round of smacks. 

 

As Hilda reached into the waistband of Sabrina’s underwear, the girl panicked and threw her hand back to stop her last layer of protection from being removed. 

 

There was a monster inside her chest, breaking everything in its wake. And Sabrina’s instinct was to run from it. She wanted this ordeal over with. If she could just go back to sleep without a blazing ass, without having to live with Aunt Hilda’s disappointment...without wondering when Aunt Zelda would finally grow tired of Sabrina’s chaotic fuck ups. She would not be able to hold it together if Aunt Hilda kept spanking her. But she didn’t know what was awaiting her on the other side of this punishment. What would be left of her to piece back together? Sabrina was certain her aunts couldn’t possibly still love her unconditionally. Not after she had shown them what terrible deeds she was capable of and had dragged them into, nonetheless. 

 

Hilda felt just as panicked as Sabrina. Where was this coming from? A few minutes ago the girl was crying in her arms, indicating the weight of her guilt was too much to shoulder. Now the open defiance had Hilda questioning her approach. 

 

_ She’s fighting you because she doesn’t want this, but she desperately needs it. Crack on with it, Hilda.  _

 

“I’ll have none of that, little miss,” she said, hardening her voice even though it took concentrated effort not to sound anxious. 

 

She held the girl’s hand out of the way and haphazardly dragged the underwear down her bum and thighs. 

 

“Auntie, please, I’m sorry! Please stop. I’ve learned my lesson, and I won’t do anything stupid ever again! Just stop, please!” Sabrina’s begging was very disconcerting.

 

Instead of continuing with the punishment, Hilda reached both hands up to rub the teen’s back in a soothing manner. This situation was escalating too quickly. 

 

“I said we will fix this together. And I think a nice, long cry is a good place to start.”

 

Sabrina heard her aunt’s persuasive words, but she shook her head against the idea. 

 

“It hurts too much,” she said. 

 

“Darling, I haven’t spanked you very hard yet,” Hilda said, trying to placate the anxious girl over her lap.

 

“No - I mean, yes, my butt hurts, but I - There are too many bad feelings inside me, Auntie. I can’t face all of them at once,” Sabrina said, turning her head to look at Hilda as best she could, imploring her to understand. 

 

Seeing those big eyes so sad and vulnerable tore Hilda’s heart to bits. She did understand that feeling of guilt overtaking oneself. Of feeling every situation in life receding from your control like waves called back to the ocean. 

 

“I know, love. I do. You have to trust me.” Hilda brushed a tear away from Sabrina’s cheek. “I’m here with you; you’re not alone. But we need to face this. That’s our first step to overcome those feelings, especially the guilt.”

 

Sabrina’s face crumbled at those words. She turned back to hide her face in her arms. 

 

“I’m such a bad person,” she cried brokenly, succumbing to sobs after the sentence was out of her mouth. 

 

“Hey! We don’t talk that way in this family - about anybody, including ourselves!” Hilda delivered a light spank to Sabrina’s bare bottom as she shut down the self-depreciation. 

 

“But it’s true,” Sabrina insisted. 

 

“You are the biggest piece of my heart, Sabrina Spellman. You fit with us, in this family, unconditionally. You are every possibility in this world, and, yes, some of those possibilities are bad, but most of them are wonderful, beautiful, messy in the best way, and right. You are enough, dear one. Don’t let your guilt tear you apart, my love. It doesn’t serve any purpose now.”

 

_ Praise Satan! I’m not tripping over my words today.  _

 

Sabrina tried to be receptive to what her aunt was saying, but she still felt stuck in a pit of despair. 

 

“Can we get this over with, Auntie?” Sabrina wasn’t intentionally manipulating her aunt, but Hilda was prone to being influenced by Sabrina’s emotions. And hopefully her sad begging would mean this spanking and all the emotions it drudged up would end soon. 

 

As Hilda mulled over her options, she decided it would be best to continue. If she cut the punishment short or stopped now only to finish it later, it would add to Sabrina’s confusion and upset. Besides, Hilda was in charge of the situation, and she would follow through. 

 

_ Zelda will think I’m utterly useless if I don’t finish this properly.  _

 

Sabrina winced as Aunt Hilda gripped her hip solidly and began spanking her bare bottom. The woman found a harsh rhythm and even managed to slip another lecture in between smacks. 

 

“I’m trying to be patient with you, Sabrina, but you’re still not listening to me,” Hilda said, starting this round of smacks at the tender skin near Sabrina’s hips. The teen squirmed to avoid the pain, but Hilda held her steady. “Despite how you may feel like a young woman, you are still a girl.” The spanks moved to the curviest part of her niece’s backside, causing Sabrina to gasp. “We’re doing this my way, now, and I’m not going to let you up until I decide you’ve had enough, darling.”

 

That wasn’t what Sabrina wanted nor expected. Aunt Hilda spanked her sit spots painfully, which made the teen fist her hand in the blankets on the bed. She writhed over Hilda’s lap and began to kick her feet out of frustration and denial. 

 

In response, Hilda smacked the tops of the girl’s thighs. She was flabbergasted and thrown a bit off balance by the kicking. Why were the women in this family so damn stubborn? 

 

_ I’m surrounded by control freaks. Satan knows it’s been the death of me more than once. But too bad for you, Sabrina, because I’ve had over a century of experience of wading through this family’s emotional disasters, and I’m no quitter.  _

 

When the girl’s kicking caused her to start sliding off Hilda’s lap (that was exactly Sabrina’s intention), Hilda readjusted her into a tighter hold.

 

“I will say it again, little miss. You are not going anywhere. You’ll be over my lap getting a smacked bottom until you let your emotions out, love.”

 

She moved back to spanking Sabrina’s sit spots, knowing the heat would build quickly there and force a reaction. 

 

Sabrina was trying to distract herself by thinking of literally anything else right now, but that only made her situation worse because all she could think about was Harvey breaking up with her, having to face her friends at school with no explanation of why she was so out of sorts, and being ostracized at the Academy for her failed magical experiment. 

 

“Stop, please. I just want to go back to bed!” She exclaimed. 

 

“No. No more avoiding how you feel, Sabrina.”

 

Sabrina made a drawn out sound of pain through gritted teeth, so Hilda knew she was on the right track. For a few moments, Hilda spanked with harder swats until her niece was exclaiming after every smack. The girl’s skin was turning dark pink now. Hilda hoped Sabrina would give in soon because she hated the thought of marking her. 

 

“You need a release, love. It’s ok. Everything will be ok, dear heart,” Hilda used a softer voice, even though she was landing slow, harsh blows to Sabrina’s stinging backside. 

 

“You can’t possibly know that,” Sabrina spoke wetly. 

 

“I’ve been alive a long time, Sabrina. Our family has a way of making the best out of all situations. And I promise that a good cry will make you feel better, lamb.”

 

Sabrina yelped. It was becoming extremely taxing to try to ignore her sore bottom. Aunt Hilda kept spanking her sit spots and undercurve. She could feel herself reaching a mental wall, and apparently the wall was about to crumble. 

 

“You’ve already taken responsibility, love. You wouldn’t feel so guilty if you hadn’t,” Hilda pointed out. 

 

“I don’t know how to make it up to you and Auntie Zee.”

 

“You don’t have to make anything up to us, darling. I just want you to make better decisions in the future. You’ve already been forgiven.”

 

The pain was becoming too much, so Sabrina let herself give into her sobs. But she was still concerned about her relationship with Aunt Zelda. She couldn’t assume Hilda spoke for both of her aunties. 

 

“But what about Aunt Zelda?”

 

“Oh dear one, didn’t last night show you how much Zelda loves you? Always and forever. When you’re hurting, she’s hurting, too. A big softie, she is, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.”

 

At those reassuring words from her aunt, Sabrina started sobbing fully. Hilda carried on spanking her niece through the tears to ensure the girl made it to a catharsis. She didn’t have the heart to keep on with hard smacks, though, so she reigned in her strength a bit. 

 

“I’m so, so sorry.”

 

“I know you are, lamb. Thank you for apologizing. I think, love, you’re ready to have me finish up.”

 

For a second, Hilda concentrated on summoning the Spellman hairbrush with a quick Latin phrase and a wave of her hand.

 

“You’re getting twelve,” Hilda calmly explained. “But you’ll have more if you ever speak to Zelda or me so disrespectfully ever again. Ever. Is that clear, my love?”

 

It was reassuring that Auntie Hilda was being so soothing. Sabrina was ready to accept that love again. And she was thankful Hilda was sympathetic to her emotional plight and sore bottom and was keeping the hairbrush paddling mostly symbolic. 

 

“Crystal, Auntie,” Sabrina replied between sobs. The girl threw her hand back, but her palm was up, reaching to grasp Hilda’s left hand. 

 

Aunt Hilda was proud of Sabrina for finally accepting the punishment. She squeezed her niece’s hand, letting the loved-filled touch calm them both for a moment. 

 

When Sabrina’s sobs had nearly stopped, and the teen seemed like she would be able to handle the swats from the hairbrush without breaking down again, Hilda spanked her lightly. 

 

She delivered the dozen swats in quick succession. Even though the spanks were light, Sabrina yelped and squirmed, but she kept her hand in Hilda’s and didn’t kick her feet or clench her muscles. 

 

“It’s over, Sabrina.”

 

The girl sighed deeply as relief washed over her body. The guilt that had been prickling her mind felt like it was dissapaiting. Even though it was unfortunately replaced with the burning in her backside, Sabrina was glad the ugly feeling was leaving her alone. She couldn’t handle living under that oppressive weight.

 

A peaceful silence filled the bedroom as Hilda discarded the brush. She felt her niece completely melt into her lap and the bed under her torso, which was a reassuring sign of relaxation and calmness. 

 

“How do you always know the best way to make me feel better?”

 

“Well, my love, you’re a bit of an open book. And, to be honest, my psychic powers give me the touch of an empath. I’m not reading your mind, dear one,” Hilda was quick to reassure, “but I can see the emotions swimming in that pretty head of yours.”

 

Aunt Hilda’s strangely intense powers were never discussed in such casual detail, so Sabrina was happy to accept the explanation and insight into her aunt. 

 

“Do you think Aunt Zelda is ready for me to go apologize to her, now?” Sabrina inquired, scared to have her request rejected again. She still planned on going back to bed, but she needed her auntie’s forgiveness to fully wash away the guilt in her tummy and brain before she could rest calm.

 

“Yes, I think she should be, love.”

 

Or, at least, Hilda hoped should would be ready.

 

“Hop up when you want, dear one. I’ll go see if Zelda is receptive, while you get dressed.”

 

* * *

 

“What are we going to do about Sabrina?” Zelda asked from her perch on her twin bed.

 

She was putting in earrings, fully dressed and made up for the day now, which was quite a turn around from an hour ago, when she had been curled up in bed much like Sabrina had been - wallowing in self-pity and sadness.

 

Hilda came right out with it. 

 

“She has a smacked bottom now.”

 

“What?”

 

“I gave her a good hiding, Zelds,” Hilda repeated.

 

Zelda slowly blinked at her sister as she took in the words. A wave of sadness washed through her but was stonewalled by relief and gratefulness. She rarely felt deserving of Hilda’s loyalty, but she was very glad to have it today. 

 

“I’m not normally cut out for this, Zelds,” Hilda confided, finally allowing herself to feel the self-doubt that had encroached upon her earlier. 

 

“It’s very...difficult for me to admit this,” Zelda said with great heaving sighs. “but I appreciate you handling Sabrina’s punishment. I’m having a hard time  _ coming back to myself…” _

 

“I know you hate giving me intimate details of how you’re really feeling, sister. We can pretend this conversation never happened once you come downstairs for some tea, eh?”

 

Zelda would never continue this talk without Hilda giving her the out. That was their way.

 

“Thank you, Hilda,” Zelda said in a hushed tone. Hilda knew she was thanking her for more than just punishing Sabrina instead of leaving it to Zelda. 

 

“I’ve realized it puts you in a tough spot: being the one who always has to be in charge around here, Zelds. Not entirely fair, is it?” Hilda fidgeted with a loose string on her cardigan, but she kept fluttering her eyes in quick glances towards Zelda’s face. 

 

A ghostly look of  _ something  _ crossed Zelda’s face as her brow furrowed for a second, but her sister pulled her expression back into a neutral look before responding. 

 

“It’s fine, really,” Zelda tried to wave her off. “We should have expected some amount of frequent trouble from our dear niece. She is Edward’s daughter, after all.”

 

Hilda sighed as a disappointed frown befell her lips. 

 

“You don’t have to acknowledge how hard it’s been - for you to take up the matriarch role after Edward died. I’ve seen the effects firsthand. I’ll try to take up some of the discipline with Sabrina. Hold her to a bit of a harder line, too. It won’t always fall on your shoulders.”

 

Hilda was a bit ashamed. Maybe if she had taken some more of the weight of authority throughout raising Sabrina, the girl wouldn’t be hunting for trouble so often now. She came to the realization when Sabrina fell into her arms after the spanking was over. Holding their not so little girl to her chest, feeling the love and trust emanating from her niece, made Hilda see a lightbulb before her eyes. She had more of the answers than she originally thought. She could handle the uneasy, unhappy situations with Sabrina, even if she was unsure of what to do at first. 

 

“That’s very noble of you, sister.” 

 

Hilda’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. She did not detect any sarcasm in her sister’s words, which was most unusual. Zelda must be more down in the dumps than Hilda observed. Even if the cordiality wouldn’t last between the sisters, Hilda would enjoy it for now.

 

“Now, then, we’ve got a very well-punished niece waiting in her room, anxious to apologize to her beloved Aunt Zelda. Should I send her in, so she can purge her guilt?” Hilda attempted to sound persuasive, but her voice came out sounding like she was searching for permission. 

 

“Guilt is an entirely mortal concept. A waste of time.”

 

“Indulge her, Zelda. Just like we’ve been doing for a decade and a half of raising her, anyhow.” 

 

To keep the atmosphere light, Hilda chuckled and bumped shoulders with Zelda, which convinced the woman to nod her consent. 

 

A minute later, Sabrina was standing in front of Zelda with her blonde head bowed, waiting to be addressed by her auntie before speaking. Zelda was scrutinizing her appearance, trying to look for evidence of the spanking in the form of fidgeting or stray tears on her niece’s face. 

 

“Has Aunt Hilda taught you the error of your ways?” She finally asked. 

 

“Yes, Auntie. I had no right to speak to you so horribly. You’ve loved me and raised me and shown me how to be a powerful witch. You’re more than a mother to me, Auntie Zee...because you’re here, and my mom can’t be. You’re just trying to make sure I’m the best person I can be, and I won’t throw that back in your face ever again. I won’t ever yell at you to hurt you again. Please forgive me.”

 

All three Spellmans were crying by the end of Sabrina’s apology. Zelda was hurriedly dabbing at her eyes, even though Sabrina could see tears leaking down her cheeks. 

 

“I accept your apology, niece. Come here,” Aunt Zelda indicated for Sabrina to meet her in a hug, and the two stayed close for a minute.

 

Sabrina felt the last of her guilt drain from her limbs. She was safe in her aunt’s arms. Not even her own negative thoughts could attack her here. 

 

“Oh, I just love a good resolution!” Hilda interrupted, sandwiching Sabrina between herself and Zelda as she pulled the two into a group hug. 

 

“Really, Hilda, this isn’t one of your cheesy novels.”

 

“Hush up and be content, for once, Zelda.”

 

Zelda made an unladylike sound but quieted her insults. 

 

“I’d like to see Hilda’s handiwork.”

 

The statement took Sabrina off guard as Aunt Zelda moved to hold her to arm’s length with a hand on each shoulder. Sabrina swallowed hard.

 

“But you said you forgave me, Auntie.” Sabrina pouted her lips and batted her sad eyes at Zelda, but the woman wasn’t swayed. 

 

“I’m sure she thoroughly punished you, and I shan’t be adding to your painful predicament. Not this time. I simply want to see how capable my sister is at delivering a good, hard spanking. And if that’s embarrassing for you, niece, too bad. I could have sworn you were just given a lesson in obedience.”

 

Sabrina felt her face flood with color at the embarrassing order. 

 

Realizing she had no choice, Sabrina turned around and frowned deeply as she pulled her sweatpants and panties down just far enough to reveal her extremely red backside to her aunties. She shifted her weight from foot to foot as she felt their eyes on her angry, throbbing skin. 

 

“Yes, Hilda’s done a fine job, indeed.” There was an undeniable note of satisfaction and pride in Zelda’s voice, which caused Hilda to preen a bit, while Sabrina silently begged for the moment to end.

 

“If there is anymore perilous behavior or contemptuous language from you, I promise I will reinforce the lesson, even if Aunt Hilda insists she has solved the problem herself. Am I understood?”

 

Putting the fear of Satan into Sabrina was Zelda’s unholy right as her parents and keeper. Let the girl have a powerful deterrent to convince her to behave better in the future. 

 

Sabrina nodded, even if the promise made her stomach flip. At least her eccentric, serious Aunt Zelda was back to her usual self. 

 

“Yes, Auntie.”

 

“You may redress and continue your day, Sabrina.”

 

Once her panties and sweatpants were pulled back up, Sabrina retreated to her bedroom. She plopped down onto the bed on her stomach, finally allowing herself to reach for her stuffed rabbit. The stuffed animal was lovingly tucked into her arms and smushed against her chest in a powerful cuddle.

 

_ Maybe everything is actually going to be ok. Or I feel like it might eventually start to be ok.  _

 

As hard as it was to accept that not all of her wrongs could be righted immediately, Sabrina made peace with that fact. Sabrina would correct one thing at a time and go from there. 


	2. Flashpoint

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback to when Sabrina is 13. She sneaks out to go to a mixed gender party, which the aunts told her she wasn’t allowed to attend. They pick her up, and Zelda and Sabrina get into a fight. Sabrina yells, “I hate you, Zelda!” And Hilda snaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn’t proofread this because I wanted to get it out. So w/e.

Hilda held the mud room door open as Zelda and Sabrina passed through the entryway to the house. The two had kept up a steady stream of squabbling, starting when the aunts went to pick up Sabrina from Roz’s house, where an illicit mixed gender party had been taking place.

 

Sabrina was in a righteous mood. She flung off her coat and scarf before making a break for the stairs. Zelda reached for the back of the girl’s dress, but the quick girl scampered out of reach.

 

Zelda yelled up the stairs, “Sabrina Spellman, you come down here this instant! We are not finished, young lady!”

 

Sabrina stopped in her tracks, just before stepping foot on the staircase.

 

The pair had been arguing on and off for several months, or so it seemed to Hilda. 

 

“None of this would have happened if you had just let me go to the party!”

 

“And I told you no. I even gave you an explanation. You are far too young to be at a party with boys.”

 

Not to mention the fact that Sabrina snuck out of the house to attend the party, since Hilda and Zelda forbade her from going. The girl had sulked around the house all week after being told she wasn’t allowed to go, but earlier this morning, it seemed like their niece had finally accepted the answer. In reality, she had only moved on to working out a way to circumvent her aunt’s attention in the evening, so she could climb out her bedroom window and walk to Roz’s house undetected. 

 

“You worry too much, Auntie. My friends are good people! And some of them happen to be boys!”

 

“Mortal boys only have one thing on their mind, Sabrina. You have no time for that improper behavior if you’re to walk the path of night.”

 

“It’s almost like you don’t want me to spend any time with my friends, just because they’re mortals!”

 

Where had their sweet little girl gone? When had she been replaced by this emotional hellion?

 

“Sabrina, do not put words in my mouth,” Zelda said tersely. Hilda saw her sister flex her fingers, a clear sign Zelda was itching for a cigarette. 

 

“Everyone knows you’re prejudiced against mortals,” Sabrina threw out. 

 

_ Oh, Sabrina, don’t push that button tonight! _ Everyone’s nerves were already frayed from the rule-breaking and uncomfortable car ride home. 

 

Zelda drove like a bat out of Hell once she realized Sabrina had snuck out. Hilda had sat in the passenger seat, bracing herself on the dashboard when her sister braked far too close to stop signs or whipped around turns at intersections to get to Rosalind’s house. 

 

Upon arriving, Zelda had shoved the car into park and stormed up the steps to the Walker’s front door, with Hilda frantically lumbering after her irate sister. Hilda had hoped she could bring her sister’s boiling anger down to a simmer before they set eyes on Sabrina. After they rang the bell and waited with bated breath for an adult to come to the door, Hilda quickly launched into a fairly calm explanation of why they came to pick up their niece so early. Hilda had felt the piercing glare from Zelda burning a hole into the side of her head, since Hilda had cut her off multiple times to quash her from raging at an innocent mortal father. 

 

But Hilda hadn’t been able to stop Zelda from laying into Sabrina once they got their little escape artist into the backseat and started the drive home. 

 

Presently, Zelda hurdled over the accusation and continued her lecture. 

 

“That is enough of your lip. You are meant to walk the path of light or the path of night but not both.”

 

“ _ The path of night or the path of light but not both _ ,” Sabrina quoted her aunt in a mocking tone.

 

Hilda watched the scene with a worried expression, sensing that both Spellmans were near their breaking points. 

 

“If you wish to see your friends again before summer break, you will stop this insolence immediately, Sabrina,” Zelda threatened. 

 

Hilda agreed that some time on restriction would set Sabrina right. It was hard enough to approach one’s teenage years as a witch, but their niece had it doubly hard with her half-mortal side. Teen mortals could be awfully encouraging of bad behavior that served no greater purpose other than having a bit of fun. If Sabrina couldn’t be trusted to navigate her social realm with responsibility, then she wouldn’t have a social life until she learned her lesson. 

 

Sabrina had the audacity to roll her eyes and huff in annoyance before retorting, “Why don’t you just lock me in my room, then? You might as well go full fairytale nightmare if you’re going to control every aspect of my life!”

 

_ Such an over-dramatic thing you’ve become, Sabrina! She’s awfully close to pushing my hard line.  _

 

“I am your guardian, and as long as you are living in this house, you will follow my rules and conduct yourself as a proper young witch!” Zelda thundered. 

 

“I hate you, Zelda!”

 

Zelda recoiled as if she had been slapped. Honestly, it felt like a punch to gut for Hilda, too, but the abominable words sprang her into action. Hilda had been pushed past her limit tonight. 

 

“Oy! You are out of line, little miss!” It was the first time Hilda had ever raised her voice to Sabrina. As she spoke, she walked over to her niece and pinched her ear in between her thumb and pointer finger, causing the girl to yelp.

 

“Auntie, what -?!”

 

Hilda turned and marched the girl towards the staircase. 

 

“You do not speak to anybody like that, especially not your Aunt Zelda! I won’t stand for this disrespect, Sabrina! We’re going up to your room, and I’m dealing with your behavior right now.”

 

Though she had never threatened her niece with a spanking before -she hadn’t even swatted the girl in the past- Hilda knew instinctively that her plan was to spank this attitude out of Sabrina  _ right now _ . 

 

“No, Auntie, please!” Sabrina knew what Hilda was hinting at. 

 

“Oh, would you rather I take you into the living room and spank you in front of Zelda?” Hilda asked incredulously. The adrenaline was rushing through her, making her say these grand threats, but Hilda had no idea if she had the gumption to follow through. 

 

What she did know, however, was that Sabrina deserved a good, hard spanking. 

 

“Upstairs, naughty minx! Let’s go!” Hilda instructed, steering her niece up the stairs. 

 

As soon as they made their way through the winding hallways and entered Sabrina’s bedroom, Hilda flung the door shut and sat on the bench at the foot of the girl’s bed. 

 

In a quick moment, Hilda had her niece in prime position for a spanking over her knees, with her dress bunched at her waist and her panty-clad bum receiving the first painful smacks of her punishment. 

 

The girl hadn’t been given a moment to adjust, so she immediately began squirming and fighting to get up. 

 

Meanwhile, Hilda felt like roaring with fire. 

 

“How dare you speak to anybody like that, least of all Aunt Zelda!” she lectured. “I know for a fact you don’t hate her - you love her dearly - which tells me you only said it to hurt her feelings. That is  **unacceptable** , Sabrina!”

 

Hilda spanked with a rapid pace. Her emotions were slightly getting the best of her right now, but her niece’s continued bad behavior only incensed her further. 

 

“Ow! I’m sorry! Really! Please stop!” Sabrina begged as she twisted her torso and kicked her legs in reaction to the burning swats landing on her sit spots. 

 

“Oh, no, little madam! You can apologize to your Aunt Zelda when I’m good and finished with you. And stop fighting me, young lady.” Hilda wasn’t buying Sabrina’s fake apology, especially since the girl didn’t stop kicking. 

 

“Stop!” Sabrina cried when Hilda moved to put the naughty girl in a leg lock. 

 

When Hilda successfully restrained Sabrina’s legs, she slipped her panties down and gave her blazing spanks on her bare bottom. Within moments, the girl was sobbing. 

 

“No more, please.”

 

“You do not tell me what to do, Sabrina Spellman. When you’re sore and sorry, I’ll stop.”

 

With that said, Hilda stopped talking and set about lighting up Sabrina’s rear end. The girl couldn’t kick anymore, but she still twisted in pained desperation. Hilda didn’t tell her to be still. She hoped Sabrina would tire herself out instead. 

 

Hilda’s silence seemed to do more to get the girl to pay attention than her admonishing words had. Sabrina was gasping and crying out with every spank now. 

 

Over time, Hilda slowed down her pace but kept the smacks hard. She had no idea how many swats she had given Sabrina, but judging by the pink color of her cheeks, the girl could handle receiving more. 

 

Noticing the untouched skin of Sabrina’s upper thighs and remembering how badly it stung to be spanked there when she was a girl, Hilda gave her niece several smacks to each thigh. Sabrina cried out loudly before starting to sniffle at the painful attention. 

 

Hilda gave the girl another circuit of swats, moving from her sit spots up to the top of Sabrina’s red bum. The naughty girl gave one last valiant effort to twist out of the line of fire before collapsing limply over Hilda’s knee. Sobs soon followed, at which point Hilda gave the girl six powerful swats before ending the spanking. 

 

“I’m sorry, Auntie,” Sabrina gasped out the words, sincere this time. 

 

“I’m glad to hear that,” Hilda responded. She rested her hand on the girl’s hot bottom before issuing a final threat, “If you _ever_ speak to either Zelda or me like that again, I will spank you harder than I just did. And you _best_ _believe_ I will spank your bare backside with the Spellman hairbrush, as well. Do you understand me, Sabrina?”

 

“Yes, Auntie Hilda,” Sabrina affirmed between continued sobs. 

 

Hilda still felt a little affronted at the behavior exhibited downstairs, and she knew she wouldn’t be in a softer mood until Sabrina apologized to Zelda. 

 

“Up you get, lamb. I want you to wait in the corner until I come back with Aunt Zelda,” Hilda instructed. 

 

“But -” Sabrina tried to protest, but Hilda cut her off by helping her niece to stand up, though she left the girl’s panties around her thighs. 

 

“Please do as I say, love.” Fatigue was creeping into Hilda’s voice, and Sabrina must have sensed it, for her niece obeyed anymore cheek. 

 

When Sabrina was standing with her nose in a corner and her dress held up around her waist, effectively baring her red bottom to the room, Hilda told her to stay put before leaving the bedroom. 

 

Before she wound her way down the hall and the staircase to fetch her sister, Hilda sagged against the wall tiredly. 

 

_ I just spanked my niece for the first time. She’s crying because I made her cry.  _

 

It was an unsettling revelation, since Hilda was the more indulgent aunt between herself and Zelda. She was the soft one, the emotional one, the playful one. And she felt fucking terrible for causing Sabrina pain just now. 

 

She found Zelda contemplatively smoking in the living room while Rachmaninov filtered through the record player. Her sister looked worn, sad, and a little old, not that Hilda was stupid enough to point any of that out to the woman. If she lived through this night, it would be a bloody miracle - not that it didn’t cross Hilda’s mind that Zelda might kill her just to let off some steam. 

 

“I must say, sister, that the events of the night have taken an interesting, though not inappropriate, turn,” Zelda mused.

 

“Sabrina’s in a corner upstairs, waiting to apologize to you,” Hilda said numbly. She plopped down in a chair beside Zelda, looking longingly at the cigarette perched in her sister’s gold clip, wishing for a moment that nicotine had a calming effect on her, too. 

 

“Let her stew for a bit. I may be a fool for admitting this, but I’m impressed, Hilda.” The smirk on her sister’s red lips flooded her words with pride. 

 

And it filled Hilda with a sick feeling. 

 

“You shouldn’t be. I’m disgusted with myself - letting my emotions gets the best of me like that,” Hilda scoffed. 

 

“Sabrina learns the hard way. We can do things the easy way, but if she  _ needs _ the hard way, we must be able to provide that for her,” Zelda offered as she lit another cigarette. “Besides, it was rather endearing of you.”

 

“What?”

 

“Protecting my honor,” Zelda said with a low laugh. 

 

But when Hilda didn’t respond because she wasn’t sure what to say to that, Zelda’s eyes turned sad, and she frowned slightly. 

 

“She didn’t mean it, Zelda. She thinks you hang the moon and all the stars, too,” Hilda tried to reassure her sister’s fragile ego. 

 

“I hope you’re right, sister.”

 

They sat listening to the vinyl as Zelda finished her cigarette. Hilda couldn’t keep from reaching for Zelda’s free hand, clutching it tightly, both to reassure herself that she had done the right thing and to show her sister that everything would be ok.

 

Zelda sighed while she snubbed out the cigarette, and she stood from her chair. 

 

“Let’s go put our naughty witch to bed,” she declared. 

 

When the pair entered Sabrina’s room, Zelda let out a satisfied sound once she set eyes on her niece. Thankfully, it appeared that the girl had stayed put with her red bottom peeking out beneath her bunched up dress. 

 

“Aren’t you a sight, Sabrina? Standing in the corner like a naughty, little girl, with a red backside on display for your misbehavior. I don’t think I’ve seen a sorrier girl until now.”

 

Sabrina fidgeted a bit at the embarrassing phrasing from Zelda.

 

“I’ve learned my lesson, Aunties. Please, can I apologize now?” she asked meekly. 

 

“Ok, dear heart. Right yourself and come to us,” Hilda said. 

 

The sisters watched as Sabrina pulled up her underwear carefully before she turned around and flung herself into Zelda’s arms. 

 

“I’m really sorry for yelling, Auntie Zee. I don’t hate you. I love you so much! I won’t say it ever again!” Her words were muffled against Zelda’s breast, but both aunts heard the sincere words. 

 

“I forgive you, Sabrina,” Zelda said with a kiss to the girl’s blonde head. She let the girl stay in her arms as long as she wanted. 

 

When Sabrina was ready, she broke the hug to give Hilda a quick squeeze, too. 

 

“You’re grounded for three weeks, Sabrina, for sneaking out of the house and going to the party without permission,” Zelda decreed, her serious gaze daring the girl to complain.

 

“Fine,” Sabrina sighed. 

 

“Get ready for bed, love, and we’ll tuck you in,” Hilda said, already moving to turn down her niece’s bed. 

 

Thankfully, the arguing and recalcitrance had ended for the night. 

 

Zelda helped Hilda with the bed, while Sabrina went to change and brush her teeth. 

 

“Hopefully that’s the first and only time I’ll have to put that little witch over my knee,” Hilda mumbled. 

 

“We shall see, sister,” Zelda retorted, succumbing to laughter at Hilda’s apparent moral strains. 

 

_ At least things are back to normal around here.  _

 

**Author's Note:**

> If you persuade me very, very nicely, I might write a flashback of the “I hate you, Zelda” incident.
> 
> Thanks for your support of my fics! Y’all keep me going!
> 
> Follow my tumblr or just come bug me: valkyriewarcry


End file.
